The present invention relates to a cushioning plate assembly of a friction clutch disc having a friction facing of a conical shape.
Some of conventional clutch discs have already employed structures as shown in FIG. 1. According to the structures in FIG. 1, a friction facing 1 returns to a conical shape from a flat shape indicated by a numeral 1' by elastical restoring force of cushioning plates 2 and separates and disengages from a flywheel 3 in a clutch disengaging operation. Therefore, the disc may be prevented from insufficient disengagement to some extent. However, according to this conventional disc, an outer peripheral portion 4 of the facing 1 may contact a pressure plate 5 in the disengagement operation. Therefore, it is impossible to satisfactorily prevent the insufficient disengagement. Further, in an engaging operation of the clutch, the outer peripheral portion 4 initially contact the pressure plate 5, so that a rather large torque is transmitted to the disc from the start of the engaging operation. Therefore, it is difficult to delicately control the transmitted torque.
Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide an improved cushioning plate assembly, overcoming the above-noted disengagement.